10 Obscure Star Trek Secrets That Took Years To Discover

Unfortunately, good LGBTQ+ representation was very difficult to get past media executives when Deep Space Nine was airing because many in charge feared the backlash it would generate. This is why, despite Andrew Robinson (the actor who played Garak) and the writers both wanting Garak to be portrayed as queer, we never saw it onscreen.

However, Andrew Robinson did state that his iconic performance of Garak on the show was inspired by queer culture, and that he actively tried to portray him crushing on Dr. Bashir (which really clears up a lot in retrospect). He confirmed the latter explicitly in the Deep Space Nine documentary What We Left Behind, stating, "At first, he just wanted to have sex with him. That's absolutely clear." He's also said in the past, "I started out playing Garak as someone who doesn't have a defined sexuality. He's not gay. He's not straight. It's a non-issue for him."

So, while it took far too long for Star Trek to include it's first LGBTQ+ characters, it's interesting to speculate on whether Garak truly did have these deeper feelings for Bashir, as Robinson claimed.